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Chapter 19. December
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Monday’s Not Coming, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Child Abuse
Family, Community, and Responsibility
Growing Up, Independence, and Friendship
Secrecy and Shame
Poverty, Social Support, and Desperation
Memory, Repression, and Trauma
Summary
Analysis
Claudia and Monday are in the school bathroom. Monday moans that Jacob swore he was going to say something. She and Jacob have been seeing each other on weekends for three weeks now, but he still hasn’t said anything at school. Monday says she’s stupid, but Claudia assures her it’s not her fault. Secretly, she thinks Monday should’ve expected this, but that seems mean. Claudia hugs Monday, but Monday yelps. Monday pulls back, sizes Claudia up, and then pulls her collar down to expose her shoulder. It’s chewed and bright red. Claudia can see teeth marks. Monday explains that August has been having tantrums—but she’s more concerned about what to do about Jacob. She insists she can’t just forget him.
Claudia is starting to mature and think critically about how to be a good friend here. She realizes that the last thing Monday needs right now is to feel even worse about the Jacob situation, which is why Claudia soothes Monday instead. Her attempts to comfort Monday, though, aren’t as successful as they might be otherwise because of this most recent injury. It’s telling that Monday “sizes Claudia up” before showing her the injury, suggesting that Monday doesn’t feel entirely comfortable being honest about her home life and perhaps doesn’t think Claudia can handle the truth.
Themes
Monday says she has to know as the bell rings. She storms into the hallway with Claudia close behind. They approach Jacob. His hair is freshly done, and he’s talking to a girl. Claudia grabs Monday’s arm and in their secret language, says he’s not worth it. Monday rushes ahead and tells Jacob they need to talk. She asks if he’s going to pretend they didn’t do anything over the weekend. Jacob brushes Monday off, but Monday tells him to tell everyone who does his hair. She tells him to say that he calls her to tell her to come over. A crowd forms around them.
Jacob seems to be using Monday so that he can improve his appearance and woo other girls at school. There’s a lopsided power dynamic here: Jacob is the best-looking boy at school and seems pretty popular, and though Monday may be useful to her classmates because of her braiding skills, it also doesn’t seem like she and Claudia have many friends. This may be a dangerous choice socially for Monday to call Jacob out in public.
Themes
Trevor asks Jacob if he’s been sleeping with Monday. Jacob says he doesn’t kiss and tell, but he’s not going to lie that Monday came over. Monday’s eyes grow huge. Shayla interjects that Monday totally slept with Jacob—she’s a “ho,” just like April. Monday says she didn’t and Claudia tries to drag her away. Monday pleads with Jacob to tell the truth. Grinning, he says they didn’t have sex—but only because Monday admitted she prefers having sex with Claudia. Everyone laughs as the girls look at each other, confused. They’re just friends.
When Shayla describes April as promiscuous (using a derogatory term for a prostitute), it shows that April’s reputation is widespread. It’s not just something that follows April when she’s around her peers—even kids several years younger know about her reputation. For Monday, this presents a major problem. She seems to want Jacob to insist that she’s not doing anything untoward and to acknowledge that he’s asked her to come over, but instead, Jacob chooses to hurt her. And not just that, but damage her reputation even more by insisting that she and Claudia are romantically involved. This, the novel suggests, will make them into even easier bullying targets.
Themes
Monday snaps, though Claudia doesn’t understand why. She rushes Jacob, hits him, and slaps him with her books. Jacob fights back and throws Monday down. Claudia pummels his back. Claudia notices the pure rage in Monday’s eyes. No one in the hallway moves as Monday slams Jacob’s head again and again. A teacher finally breaks up the fight and drags Monday and Claudia to the principal’s office. Claudia assures Monday that Mrs. Charles will understand, but Monday says she won’t. Her mom will kill her.
In Claudia’s experience, parents might get angry, but they will also be rational and safe to talk to. Given Monday’s response and what readers know or suspect at this point in the book about abuse she suffers at home, Monday doesn’t seem to have the luxury of a safe, rational parent. Claudia seems to believe that they fought Jacob for valid reasons, so it won’t be hard to convince their parents of this.
Themes
Get the entire Monday’s Not Coming LitChart as a printable PDF.
Claudia has only been in the principal’s office once, when a boy touched her butt and Ms. Valente saw it happen. Ma had been ready to burn the school down. Now, Claudia expects Ma to come in ready to kill. But Mrs. Charles is there first. She gives Monday and Claudia a look that could kill and Claudia notices Monday go pale. The principal steps out and explains what happened. The girls will be suspended for fighting. Without flinching, Mrs. Charles asks the girls for their story. Claudia says that Jacob spread lies about having sex with Monday and wouldn’t stop. Mrs. Charles tells the principal that Monday wouldn’t hurt someone without a reason; she trusts Monday.
Claudia is getting mixed messages here. Mrs. Charles gives a look that terrifies Monday, which may support that she’s abusing her daughter or won’t take her seriously. But then, Mrs. Charles also insists to the principal that she trusts Monday and expects Monday to defend herself if necessary. Claudia seems to take Mrs. Charles’s attempts at rational conversation more seriously, while Monday’s terror implies that readers should take Monday seriously instead.
Themes
The principal insists that Monday made the first move and says that anyway, there are rules about fighting in school. Mrs. Charles asks if he’s going to let Jacob spread lies about her daughter. Suddenly, something catches Mrs. Charles’s attention. She marches to Monday and pulls her collar down to reveal the bite mark, which is now bleeding. Claudia, desperate, says that Jacob did it. Mrs. Charles screams at the principal until Ma arrives. The principal dismisses the girls and doesn’t mention suspension again.
The bite mark, of course, came from August and not Jacob. But because Claudia is so intensely loyal to Monday, she sees it as her responsibility to do whatever she can to protect Monday from her mother’s wrath. It’s also worth considering that if the school does suspend Monday, she’ll be stuck at home with Mrs. Charles—something that would put her more at risk of suffering abuse. Being at school keeps her safe.
Themes
Outside, Ma asks for someone to tell her what happened. Ma scolds Claudia for fighting, but Mrs. Charles insists that girls fight. When Ma says her daughter doesn’t fight, Mrs. Charles is offended. Claudia realizes that Ma expects behavior like this from Monday, but not her. Mrs. Charles hisses for Monday to follow her. Claudia doesn’t think that Monday’s obvious fear of Mrs. Charles seems normal, but Ma tells Claudia to be quiet and follow her home.
There’s a clear class difference between Ma and Mrs. Charles, which manifests in having very different expectations for their daughters. Ma expects Claudia to be able to go through life without getting physical; Mrs. Charles wants Monday to be able to defend herself. When Claudia picks up on the fact that Monday is so afraid of her mother, it shows that she’s becoming more attuned to the clues that something is seriously wrong in Monday’s household.
Themes
Claudia does chores all weekend and can’t get ahold of Monday. On Monday morning, Monday arrives at school stumbling, with glassy eyes and white lips. Her clothes are filthy and her hair is a mess. Worst of all, she smells like urine. Kids heckle her until Ms. Valente takes her to the nurse for fresh clothes.
Coming to school smelly, dirty, and dehydrated (having white lips is a symptom of dehydration) implies that something terrible happened to Monday over the weekend. The school, though, is unconcerned and ignores that these are possible signs of abuse—and only Ms. Valente takes steps to help Monday.
Themes
